Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Las Vegas Mob Experience

The latest attraction to hit the Vegas Strip is the Las Vegas Mob Experience. This is the first of two museums / attractions opening in 2011 dedicated to the unique history of Las Vegas. Whilst the beginnings of Las Vegas are a little ‘underworld’, it is what it is, so why not embrace it?

The first attraction to open its doors is the Las Vegas Mob Experience located at the newly renovated Tropicana Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. This interactive experience takes you from the streets of New York where you will meet characters along the way trying to tempt, bribe and cajole you into doing illegal activities. You’ll meet the mob boss, the police and more on your journey through the history of the Mob.

Old time getwaway gangster car

You’ll then come upon the famous desert scene, where Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and Meyer Lansky discussed how Las Vegas was the next ‘big thing’. This was where gambling was legal and the Mob could make a fortune from skimming the takings. As history buffs know, this is exactly what happened, but unfortunately for Bugsy, his girlfriend Virginia Hill was skimming from the Mob and Bugsy was ‘hit’ in Virginia’s large house in Beverly Hills right after the Flamingo opened its doors on 26 December, 1946.

Your experience continues with an insight into the counting room, the ‘back room’ where you determine the outcome for a casino thief and then finally to the point where the decisions you have made up until now come to fruition.

Before you exit the attraction, there is a plethora of memorabilia and artifacts from some of the top gangsters in Las Vegas’ history – Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Sam Giancana, Anthony ‘The Ant’ Spilotro and Allan Sachs.

Inside Bugsy Siegel's house

The second museum to open will be The Museum of Law Enforcement and Organized Crime spearheaded by Las Vegas’ own ‘Mob Mayor’, Oscar Goodman and scheduled to open in December, 2011. The museum will be located Downtown on Stewart Street in the former Federal Courthouse and Post Office.

So on your next visit to Las Vegas, be sure to stop by the Tropicana Hotel (a one-time mobster haunt) to catch a glimpse into the life and times of some of America’s most notorious criminals and their rise and subsequent fall in Sin City.